Serving: 24                        Time : 1hr 45min                           Difficulty: easy

I had just seen Aruna Panangipally’s blog “ãhãram” (which I follow) in which she had posted a Dahiwalae Achari Baingan recipe. She used the 5 spices for tempering which is called ‘panch phoran’. Panch Phoran is a combination of 5 seeds – mustard,cumin, nigella(also called kalounji or onion seed),fenugreek and fennel – mixed together in equal quantities and bottled. Panch phoran is also used in the Indian style pickles made of raw mangoes, mixed vegetables, lime, chicken, fish etc.,.

So while shopping at the Farmer’s Market in my little town, I saw that there were a variety of luscious fruits for sale – Plums, Peaches, Nectarines, Bing Cherries etc.,. Still thinking of the panch phoran, I decided to make a mixed fruit chutney using these 5 tempering spices. It came out really good – hot, sweet and sour. Great with rice, roti or even toast.

Ingredients:

4 each – Peaches, Plums, Nectarines – peeled and chopped

1/2 cup oil

1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp  panch phoran

1/2 tsp asafoetida powder

1 – 2 tsp chilli powder

1 bulb garlic pods – sliced

1 cup or more  of sugar

salt to taste

Directions:

Heat oil in a saucepan, till smoking hot. Add the panch phoran spices and let them splutter, then add the asafoetida. Stir fry for 10 seconds , then add the chopped fruit, salt, chilli powder and let it cook on a medium flame, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Next add the sugar, vinegar and the sliced garlic, stir well. Let it simmer for another 15 minutes. Taste the chutney to adjust salt/sugar/chilli powder etc. Cook for another 5 minutes. Take off the heat and bottle.

You can add dates, raisins, dried cranberries or cherries, if  you require, to add another dimension to the chutney.

Enjoy!